May 10 Carnival Dream Review

[stobe1]

Here is a short review of our Carnival Dream cruise from 5/10 to 5/17 calling on Montego Bay, Grand Cayman and Cozumel and 3 sea days. If you have any questions, please ask. I’d be happy to answer them. My wife and I typically only cruise on Carnival and I will try to offer and balanced and fair review. There were a few hiccups on this cruise, but nothing to get in a tizzy over and over all we had an excellent time.

 

Pre-Cruise

We drove the 7 hours from Little Rock to New Orleans on Friday 5/8 and stayed at the St. Christopher Best Western right off Canal Steet. It was a prime location within walking distance to Bourbon Street. It ran about $200 per night, but with the ease of access to the nightlife and a 5 minute drive to the Erato Street pier, we thought it was worth the extra money. Also, being Mother’s Day weekend, I’m sure the prices were slightly higher than normal as well.

 

Embarkation

We arrived at the Erato Street Terminal at about 10 am and parked at the cruise terminal for $120 for the week. We parked in a prime location right next to the elevators and were through security and checked in by 10:15. We had purchased FTTF, which came in handy a few times, but I’m on the fence on whether I’d purchase it again. I’ll explain this as I go along, but in terms of checking in and boarding, we were there before the crowds began to show up, so even if we hadn’t purchased FTTF, we would have been through security and checked in in the same amount of time and had one of the first zones for boarding, anyway.

 

We boarded the ship at 11:45 and went straight to our cabin. We had a cove balcony, room 2419. It was a great location, close to the aft elevators and a short walk to the launderette for ironing. We didn’t check any bags and since my wife and I are both flight crew, we are pretty good a packing what we need for a week in one roll-a-board. We had one carry on per person and one garment bag with our formal attire. When you are on the road as much as we are, you learn what you need and don’t need. We unpacked and I made use of the launderette and ironed all our clothes for the week so that it was all over and done with for the week.

 

After all the housekeeping things were done for the week, we began exploring the ship. We debated buying the Cheers package and in the end decided to go ahead and get it. I think we ended up breaking even on that deal. We had lunch at Pasta Bella, just above the Lido Marketplace. The muster drill took place promptly at 3:30 and we were sailing away at approximately 4:15.

 

Ship

The ship was in great shape and the décor was very nice. We had just been on the Magic out of Galveston in March, and the layout is practically identical, so we really didn’t have any issues navigating the ship. We really love the Dream class! The ship’s staff were always cleaning and keeping her looking good. I never really saw any messes or any trash or cups or cans lying around for long periods of time and there were always plenty of places to sit and relax. Despite her size and being at capacity with over 3,000 passengers, she never seemed crowded.

 

Cabin

As mentioned earlier, we had a cove balcony, room 2419. We always get a balcony cabin, but this was our first time in a cove balcony. Overall, we really enjoyed it and loved being so close to the water line. We also liked the fact that the cove balcony offered lots more privacy than your standard balcony.

 

Our cabin steward was I Gede and he did a fantastic job the entire week. He was prompt, attentive, and kept everything clean. We asked for extra towels and ice and he provided them for us during both the morning and evening cabin service. I can’t say enough good things about him and I made sure to tip him some extra money on the last night to thank him for a job well done.

 

My only complaint about our cabin is something that was completely not Carnival’s fault. I’m not bringing this up to start a debate on Carnival’s smoking policy on cabin balconies; however, both of our neighbors smoked constantly all week long on their balconies. I didn’t say anything to either of them about the smoking but one evening as we were leaning against the balcony railing enjoying the view and ocean breeze, one of my neighbors decided to spit overboard and instead of going in the water, it ended up blowing back into my balcony and on my face. I said, “Really, dude?” I didn’t even get an apology. I was tempted to rat them out to Guest Services, but I figured I’d leave it alone and I knew that tattling on them for smoking wouldn’t stop them from smoking on their balcony and would only create unneeded tension and awkwardness.

 

Staff

Everyone we encountered was very friendly. For those of you that are curious, the CD was Hennie van Heerden. He seemed friendly and I saw him a few times around the ship, but I’m not a person who cares who the CD is or what he does, so I wasn’t really looking for him. He always ended his announcements with “Bye, bye………………..(long pause)………….I said bye, bye” (in some weird voice).

 

Our Captain was Rosario Arena and he only made one announcement just prior to muster. Personally, I was ok with that. I know that when I make announcements from the cockpit, half the people aren’t listening anyway and the other half don’t care, so I really don’t make announcements either because no one wants to hear me blabber, so it didn’t bother me at all that we never heard from him.

 

Ports

Montego Bay – We didn’t even get off the ship. We aren’t big fans of Jamaica. We used this day as a pool and spa day on the ship and got a great deal on a couple’s massage. Also, it’s kind of cool to basically have the ship all to yourself.

 

Grand Cayman – This was one of the reasons we purchased FTTF. I hate tender ports, so I thought FTTF would be a good way to beat the crowds off the ship. However, we decided to book the Snuba excursion through Carnival, and it was a rather early departure for this excursion, so we had the first tender off the ship anyway. This is the second time a FTTF perk didn’t really come in useful for us. I must say that the Snuba excursion was fantastic. We definitely would do it again and we enjoyed it so much that my wife and I are looking into taking lessons to become scuba certified. This was one of the highlights of our trip. After the excursion was over, we walked around Georgetown, had a severely overpriced lunch and bought two bottles of Tortuga rum to take back home.

 

Cozumel – Every time we go to Cozumel, we go to Nachi Cocum and this trip was no different. As always, it was quiet, serene, not crowded and the drinks and food was great and the service was excellent. I would move there if I could.

 

Entertainment

We aren’t into the stage production shows so I can’t report on them. We did go to two comedy shows, though, and they were both quite funny. The guy in the piano bar was ok. He played well and kept the crowd entertained and engaged, but he couldn’t really carry a tune.

 

I read on here all the time that there isn’t any live music on Carnival ships anymore. I’ll be honest, these people must be holed up in their cabins the entire cruise because there is plenty of live music. Yes, the DJ is by the pool during the busy times, but elsewhere on the ship there is plenty of live music, you just have to look for it. There’s usually a band in Ocean Plaza, there is a band at the Dream atrium at various times and when the DJ isn’t at the pool, someone is playing the guitar at the Red Frog Rum Bar.

 

Other than that, I can’t really comment on anything else entertainment wise. My wife and I pretty much stayed buzzed the whole time in a lounge chair either by the aft pool or at Serenity or at the Blackjack tables (me) and slots (her). Speaking of which – I lost a lot of money at the tables this cruise. I usually at least break even, but that wasn’t the case this time around. My wife did ok at the slots.

 

Food

Lido Buffet – it was the standard Carnival fare -- nothing too much to write home about.

 

Pasta Bella – as I said earlier, the only time we ate here was on embarkation. It was pretty good.

 

Main Restaurant – We had Your Time Dining and never had a wait to get seated. We went at various times each night and always were seated immediately. The service was good and prompt. The food was, again, the typical Carnival fare with the standard Carnival menu. The Dream does not yet have the American Table/Feast menu.

 

Chef’s Art Steak House – We ate here the first night. As always, they give you a free bottle of wine with your dinner on the first night. The food was fantastic and the service was excellent. Believe it or not, my favorite item from the Steak House wasn’t the filet or the lobster, but was the wasabi horseradish mashed potatoes. Holy cow, I could have eaten a whole pot of that. If anyone has the recipe, please send it to me.

 

Sea Day Brunch – We ate here the first morning. It was excellent. I had the steak and eggs and my wife had the eggs benedict. Of course, the bloody mary bar was a nice touch and I love a good, spicy bloody mary with all the fixin’s and they did not disappoint!

 

Sea Day BBQ – I must say this is the first time in all of our Carnival cruises that we tried the sea day BBQ on the last day. It wasn’t all that great. The hamburger sliders were just ok. Also, to me, BBQ is chicken, ribs, hot dogs and burgers, not the tacos they had offered in addition to the sliders.

 

Debarkation

Since we had FTTF, we received a notice in our cabin the night before that if we wanted to debark early, we had to meet in the dining room at 6:15 am. We were there promptly at 6:15 am and were getting off the ship at 6:45 right after the Platinum and Diamond passengers. Again, all we had was our 2 carry-ons and garment bag plus a couple of extra bags of trinkets and liquor that we had accumulated over the course of the week. We went straight through customs and were in our car driving back to Little Rock by 7 am and walked in our front door 1:30 pm. You can’t beat that!

 

That’s pretty much it. If you have any questions, please ask.

 

Next up on deck for us is the Breeze 8-day on October 10 (which means we will have sailed all 3 Dream class ships this year!) and the Sunshine 13-day in February of next year – we are really looking forward to this one! Lots of ports we have never been to like Barbados, Trinidad, Dominica, Grenada and Martinique.

 

Thanks for reading and happy cruising!!

Edited May 23, 2015 by stobe1

[jamon]

Thanks for the review..do you know who the HOTEL DIRECTOR was??? Their name would be on the front of the Fun Times...thanks

[stobe1]

No, I don't recall. We saved all the Fun Times, but they're at home and I'm flying until the end of next week. When I get back home next Friday I'll look and let you know.

Edited May 23, 2015 by stobe1

[Robert & Debra]

We sail on Dream in another week. We are also in a cove balcony. Thank you for the review. Sorry you had to deal with rude people. Hope we don't see any of that. I could deal with the smoking but getting spit on would be a problem.

 

Do you think if you had showed up at the terminal a little later you still could have gotten on board at the same time with FTTF?

[stobe1]

We sail on Dream in another week. We are also in a cove balcony. Thank you for the review. Sorry you had to deal with rude people. Hope we don't see any of that. I could deal with the smoking but getting spit on would be a problem.

 

Do you think if you had showed up at the terminal a little later you still could have gotten on board at the same time with FTTF?

 

Honestly, I don't have a clue. I wish I could answer that question.

 

You'll love your cove balcony. It's fantastic and I think we will always try to book one from now on when sailing on Dream and Vista class ships.

 

And thanks! That was the only real negative about our cruise and it wasn't Carnival’s fault. I didn't let it ruin our trip.

 

Have a fantastic time!!

Edited May 23, 2015 by stobe1

[jeffinhouston]

Thanks for the review..do you know who the HOTEL DIRECTOR was??? Their name would be on the front of the Fun Times...thanks

 

The hotel director was Hector Groves.

[krmckee]

Do you remember what movies were playing in the dive-in theater?

[stobe1]

Do you remember what movies were playing in the dive-in theater?

 

I recall that The Fault in Our Stars was one of them, but I can't remember the others.

[SMSACE6]

Nice review Stobe1! Thanks for posting it. The Dream is a ship that I would love to sail on. And that it leaves from New Orleans, makes it even more appealing! I love that city:) Maybe next year.

[suspect0]

Awesome review! We'll be heading out from Little Rock late June for a cruise on the Dream and will be in a cove for the first time. I really appreciated the line about heading home at 7:30 and getting back early afternoon. How was the drive down and back? Any of the fine Arkansas road work going on?

 

-- Matt Cruz

[stobe1]

Awesome review! We'll be heading out from Little Rock late June for a cruise on the Dream and will be in a cove for the first time. I really appreciated the line about heading home at 7:30 and getting back early afternoon. How was the drive down and back? Any of the fine Arkansas road work going on?

 

-- Matt Cruz

 

It was really a nice and quiet drive both ways on back roads through Arkansas and Mississippi. We went through Pine Bluff, Grady and Lake Village then went into Greenville, MS and Vicksburg, MS then went down 55 into New Orleans. It was quite a relaxing drive with no traffic and no construction either direction.

 

You'll enjoy the drive!

Edited May 24, 2015 by stobe1

[Crusin Hogs]

It was really a nice and quiet drive both ways on back roads through Arkansas and Mississippi. We went through Pine Bluff, Grady and Lake Village then went into Greenville, MS and Vicksburg, MS then went down 55 into New Orleans. It was quite a relaxing drive with no traffic and no construction either direction.

 

You'll enjoy the drive!

 

I'm another cruiser from Little Rock , We sailed The Dream when it was based in Cape Canaveral . Never sailed from New Orleans , We drive to Galveston , Ft Lauderdale ,and Miami . The Dream ,Magic ,and Breeze are the last 3 we have sailed on .

[Amadeus615]

Great review, thank you for sharing! I may check out Nachi Cocom.

[Wilson820]

Great review! Very helpful as I will take the same cruise next Frebrary with friends. One member of our group is an avid bridge player. Do you know if there are organized card games onboard?

[Raxter54]

Thanks for the review! Taking our first CCL cruise on the Dream next year, and I am ready as much on the ship as I can.

 

Concerning the Laundrette - how large are they, and how many ironing boards/irons are there? Were they very busy?

 

Concerning the Arkansas roads - when we drove down Interstate 55 to NOLA, there wasn't any constrution, but the first 15 or so miles in Arkansas were extremely bumpy - the hood on my car was shaking it was so bad :)

[Podna's]

Thanks for the review. Sorry to hear about your rude neighbors. We also love the Dream and sailing out of New Orleans.

Edited May 24, 2015 by Podna's

[stobe1]

Great review! Very helpful as I will take the same cruise next Frebrary with friends. One member of our group is an avid bridge player. Do you know if there are organized card games onboard?

 

I'm sure there are organized card games, but I'm not sure how often and which types.

 

I did see lots of people playing cards and dominoes in various locations on their own, so perhaps you could challenge some of your fellow passengers to a quiet game.

[stobe1]

Thanks for the review! Taking our first CCL cruise on the Dream next year, and I am ready as much on the ship as I can.

 

Concerning the Laundrette - how large are they, and how many ironing boards/irons are there? Were they very busy?

 

Concerning the Arkansas roads - when we drove down Interstate 55 to NOLA, there wasn't any constrution, but the first 15 or so miles in Arkansas were extremely bumpy - the hood on my car was shaking it was so bad :)

 

There are several laundrettes all across the ship on various decks. They are a decent size with 3 or 4 washer and dryers in each one. There is one ironing board and iron in each one. I'm not sure how busy it got during the week since I took care of all the ironing for the week as soon as we got on so I wouldn't have to deal with it the rest of our trip. If I had to guess, I'd say that it probably gets a bit busy right before dinner time when everyone is getting ready.

 

My advice: do what I do and get it done as soon as you get on and you won't have any competition for it.

Edited May 24, 2015 by stobe1

[Crusin Hogs]

Concerning the Arkansas roads - when we drove down Interstate 55 to NOLA, there wasn't any constrution, but the first 15 or so miles in Arkansas were extremely bumpy - the hood on my car was shaking it was so bad

 

If the hood was all that was shaking on your car you must have been on 1 of our good roads :D This is the reason most of us here drive trucks

[kdunn6]

Thank you for the review, sailing the Dream in December.

My question is how much of a discount did you get on the couples massage?

Not sure what to do in Montego Bay,thinking about staying on the ship.

[portlandpete]

Love your review!! We are looking into sailing the Dream next so your information was really helpful. We are more into relaxing and reading during the day and listening to the music at night. And Carnivals music works for us!! I also do all our ironing for the week the first day. I thought I was the only one who did that! I like to get it out of the way. Enjoy the Breeze we loved it!

[Raxter54]

if the hood was all that was shaking on your car you must have been on 1 of our good roads :d this is the reason most of us here drive trucks

 

lol :d

[stobe1]

Thank you for the review, sailing the Dream in December.

My question is how much of a discount did you get on the couples massage?

Not sure what to do in Montego Bay,thinking about staying on the ship.

 

We paid $195 (before gratuity) for a 75 minute hot stone massage.

[Sthrncrusr]

Do you happen to remember any of the port day spa special prices? We too are thinking of staying on the boat one of the stops....thanks!

[clayb]

Thank you for the review, sailing the Dream in December.

My question is how much of a discount did you get on the couples massage?

Not sure what to do in Montego Bay,thinking about staying on the ship.

 

Regarding Jamaica, you need to do research and figure out where to go. It really is a beautiful island. One time, we just went to Rose Hall Great House to learn about the White Witch. And there is "Scotchie's" where you can get OUTSTANDING Jerk Chicken, pork, etc. It is a SHACK, but food is awesome. Check it out on trip advisor, along with other things to do in Montego Bay. Don't deprive yourself of learning about a different culture. It's like any European location, you need to do research. Happy Sailing.

Edited May 26, 2015 by clayb